Time Changes Us All
by Gilmoregirls14
Summary: Lorelai makes a shocking discovery about her Father's past, as she struggles with her job, family, and life in general. A very pregnant Rory, lonely because her husband is away on business moves back to Stars Hallow and realizes how much she has missed.
1. One Big Happy Family?

"Lorelai! Lorelai!" Sookie yelled pulling into the driveway as Lorelai was getting into her jeep.

"Sookie, hun, calm down what do you need?" Lorelai asked calmly as Sookie ran up to her.

"Ok I realize that you're probably busy, oh is that a new shirt? It's cute, I like the purple," Sookie panted out.

"Sookie you needed something," Lorelai said "I have to go so, ya know spit it out."

"You're going somewhere… well I was just wandering... if you could watch…" Sookie started but Lorelai interrupted

"Sookie! I can't watch Davey, Martha, and Charlotte, I have to take these to my parent's house," Lorelai answered knowing Sookie's question, and she gestured at a matching set of lamps.

"What are those for? You know what never mind, if you can't watch the kids then I'll have to go ask someone else, Jackson has that big health inspection today and I just want the kids out of our hair," Sookie replied sighing.

"Sorry Sook, you should go ask Kirk and Lulu, I'm sure the kids would love playing with Stewart," Lorelai said suppressing a grin as she saw the look of disbelief on Sookie's face.

"Yeah that's really going to happen, it's right up there with letting Patty watch them right after she's had some leftover Harbor Day punch," Sookie answered rolling her eyes "it's fine, I'll see if Mrs. Kim can do it, she's actually pretty good with them and they always act more appreciative when they get home, so that's a win, anyway I'll see you later, have fun." Sookie finished running back to her car which contained a screaming Charlotte.

"You read my mind," Lorelai said rolling her eyes as she thought of the look her mother would give her upon seeing a chip in one of the lamps.

The ride to Hartford was short as usual and the same piercing feeling in her gut hit as she saw her parents extremely expensive house coming into view up the road. As she pulled up to the door she saw another car and realized that she hadn't called her parents to tell them she was coming. Another reason for one of Emily Gilmore's famous glares. The car meant company though, which meant that her parents wouldn't want to chat and she could get in and out quickly. She wanted to make it to the Diner before Luke, her husband, and Rome, her two year old son returned from their fishing trip. Which she had so hastily avoided, fishing had never been top on her to-do list, and she grinned as the word "list" reminded her of her pregnant daughter Rory, who was living in New York with her husband Logan. Anxiously Lorelai opened the car door and pulled the two extremely heavy lamps out, and walked up to the front door expecting to be greeted by her Mother's new maid upon knocking on the door. However she was surprised when a man, several years older than her opened the door.

"Uh… hi," Lorelai babbled "…did the maid already quit?"

"What, what do you mean?" the man questioned then quickly chimed in "I'm not really all that sure, see I'm um… I'm just here to see my Father and he and his wife are upstairs talking, they told me to wait down here, and when I heard a knock on the door I answered," he finished, chuckling nervously.

"Your Father?" Lorelai questioned in disbelief "Is your Father… Richard Gilmore? Or do I have the wrong house?" Lorelai asked in plain shock.

"Yes my Father is Richard Gilmore at least that's what my Mother tells me," the man confessed.

Lorelai stood there in shocked, than slowly asked "Who's your Mother?"

"… My Mother's name is Pennilyn… Pennilyn Lott, do you know her?"

Lorelai stood there for a moment before it finally registered in her mind, "You said they're upstairs?"

"Yes, but I don't think they want to be disturbed," the man argued as Lorelai bounded past him, and he tried to hold her back.

"What is this all about you two?" Lorelai asserted as her parents walked out of their bedroom.

They both looked up at the same time, shocked that Lorelai was there, and realized they had a lot of explaining to do.

"How much do you know? About him?" Emily questioned, shooting a glare at the man.

"Enough… believe me," Lorelai started "Dad how could you do this? I've been alive for forty-six years and you didn't once tell me I had an older brother."

"Humph," Emily snorted. "Yes Lorelai that would have been a great thing to tell the people he loves, I mean I realize it happened before we even met but some sort of mention in the past nearly fifty years of marriage would have been nice," Emily finished turning her glare to Richard who was looking rather sheepishly down at his polished leather shoes.

"Wait, Mom you didn't know?" Lorelai questioned.

"No, I had no idea," Emily asserted shaking her head, "Not a clue." There was a moment of silence.

"... Listen, maybe I should go. It seems I'm not exactly welcome here," the man addressed, "It was nice to meet you all... and Richard we'll be in touch," he commented walking towards the door. "By the way Lorelai, I'm Jeffrey Lott," the man said turning back around, "It was nice to meet you."

Then he was gone and the awkwardness climaxed. "Well I thought we'd been through just about everything a single family could go through... I guess I was wrong," Emily paused, "Goodbye Lorelai." She walked away into the dining room.

If there was one thing Lorelai admired about her Mother it was that she didn't usually show her emotions openly, at least not while company was there. Lorelai turned her back on her Father who was still glued to the floor looking down at his shoes, "Well then, I guess I'll be going," she turned back around, looked at her Father who had finally taken his eyes off his shoes and was now staring at a "slightly pornographic statue" then walked out the front door.

The cool air felt good on her skin and she took out her phone to call Rory who would be extremely appreciative to hear about what had just happened.


	2. Rory's Dilemma

For the first time ever Rory felt both emotionally and physically drained. Today had been the worst day of her life, and she didn't even have her husband here to comfort and hold her. She shoved her face under the covers and thought of her husband, Logan; he was in Beijing for a year on business. She wasn't angry at him, his company was young and he needed to make connections. However that didn't change the fact that she missed him, if he were here he would rush over to the New York Times and complain about that fact that they suspended her. Although she couldn't blame them, she had, had doubts about the article. She had known that it would be controversial, but she never imagined that they would have suspended her for it, and for a whole three months. Realizing that worrying about her job would never help the sleep that was so needed to come, Rory allowed her mind to drift to other things. Logan only had two months left in Beijing which would allow him to arrive home in time to be there for the birth of their first child who was due in three months. Rory began thinking about the baby, she hoped it would be a girl, although she knew Logan so craved a boy. Slowly but steadily she finally started drifting off, that is until her phone rang. Grumpily she picked it up. It was her Mother, whom she was angry at. She was angry because her Mother hadn't spoken to her in weeks. In fact Rory knew nothing about what was happening in the town she grew up in. Her Mother rarely spoke about it anymore, she bragged about business at the Inn and the fact that Rome was beginning to speak in full sentences. Big deal, Rory thought, she could no longer hide the jealousy she was carrying towards her little brother. Rome was young, had a Father who was always there, and was the constant talk of the town now. It was like Rory no longer existed, it was Rome this, and Rome that. Rory felt isolated from the quirky figures she grew up knowing, New York definitely wasn't what she expected, she didn't have many friends here, and it was even worse with Logan gone. Day after day she went to work where she was ridiculed by many because of her Rookie stature, than went home to an empty apartment, where she heated up soup, or macaroni & cheese. She didn't go out. Mainly she read or continued working on articles on her laptop. Loneliness had definitely shown its ugly face in her life. Hurling the phone at the wall Rory continued her mission to sleep, than it hit her. The suspension was the perfect opportunity to reconnect with her past life, and she realized bolting upright that a trip to Stars Hallow was in her future, but first she had to have a face to face with the editor of the Times and suddenly she felt sick.

Finally a deep sleep engulfed her, but an hour later came a knock at the door. Quickly she gathered herself up out of bed and answered the door. It was Doyle, Paris' husband; obviously he had heard about her suspension, I mean how could he not? He was married to the New York Times editor, Paris.

"Hi Rory, I'm sorry for bothering at… seven o' clock… wait were you asleep?" Doyle questioned, glancing at Rory's puffy eyes.

"Don't worry about it Doyle. What do you need?" Rory replied "I mean what's so important that you would need to wake up an exhausted pregnant woman? Hmm?" Rory demanded. "Especially since you have your own life at home with your wife and kids, you really need to rub the suspension in my face?"

"Listen Rory I can see that you're especially irritable tonight…" Doyle noted. "But I just wanted to tell you that I'm trying really hard to get Paris to reverse the suspension. I just wanted to let you know that I'm on your side completely."

"Wait… what? Why would you do that, I mean if I get suspended than you get promoted to a full time reporter, I mean just why?" Rory inclined.

"Honestly?" Doyle asked hesitantly.

"Yes honestly," Rory answered.

"Ok well you can't laugh but, I'm actually enjoying being an obituary writer, I mean not only do you get to go deep into the great lives of hundreds, but I also get off at twelve," Doyle stopped then seeing the looking of disbelief on Rory's he continued, "By getting off at twelve I get to spend more time with the kids. When Paris is home its do this, do that, don't eat this, do eat that, it drives me nuts. The only time the kids get to act like kids is when I'm home, I've just enjoyed that and they have too. If I have to go back to work full time, then they won't get to act like kids anymore just the robots Paris is making them. You understand where I'm coming from don't you?" Doyle pleaded.

"Well I mean, I understand about Paris but I don't exactly have experience with the whole kid thing." Rory contradicted.

"But you understand that I need you to keep this job so I can keep mine too, basically the entire future of the world depends on you Rory Huntzberger, because you know if Paris turns our children into mini Paris' then there will be little Paris' running around and we can't let that happen," Doyle asserted.

"I… I guess so, I can't control Paris' actions but I won't stop you from trying to," Rory answered surprised.

"Thank you Rory, you won't be sorry, I'll get your job back, even if it means not being able to watch TV after four!" Doyle kissed Rory on the cheek surprising her then ran down the stairs shouting "I swear I'll get your job back if it's the last thing I do!"

"That was weird… wait why wouldn't Doyle be able to watch TV… ya know what never mind," Rory mumbled shutting the door.

She was dreading the next day and somewhere deep down inside her she hoped Doyle wouldn't be able to convince Paris to life her suspension so she could take a much needed visit to Stars Hallow.


	3. Rome's Mischief

"Luke… Rome, are you home…" Lorelai chattered.

Seeing that they weren't she acknowledged Paul Anka as he pranced from the kitchen.

"How is your hair growing back so quickly?" she asked suppressing a smile.

Lorelai couldn't help the smile that did spread across her face, although when she had first seen that Rome had cut Paul Anka's hair she was more than ready to give Rome the spanking he deserved.

However, Luke had calmed her down and told her to remember that it was different with Rome; he wouldn't be like Rory, especially being a boy and all. He wouldn't be calm and quiet or fun to chat with when he became a teenager, but instead would probably like motorcycles, working on cars, and other junk like that.

Lorelai could live with that, after all she did love her son, she just wished he were better behaved… and that he actually listened to the word no.

Lorelai sat on the couch and soon heard the familiar engine of Luke's old beat up truck, and once again couldn't help but smile. Soon there were heavy footsteps on the porch one set Luke's, and another faint set was Rome's, trying to copy his Father, but not being quite big enough to get the full effect.

"Hey we're home," Luke yelled in no particular direction from the doorway, "Ya Mom we're home!" Rome screamed after his Father. Rome ran up and jumped on top of Lorelai.

"Ow, Rome could you please stop kneeing me in the stomach," Lorelai answered laughing.

"Son… son could you please get off your Mother" Luke scolded, lifting Rome off.

"It's ok Luke, like you said boys will be boys… So how were the slimy fish today?" Lorelai teased.

"Didn't get a single bite, I'm telling you if you're going to put a pond in the same area where fifty hawks were just released into the wild for some conservation group that offered to give you four hundred postcards of a baby ducks, then you are an absolute moron. I mean I thought Taylor was a bad town selectman, but Kirk is an absolute nightmare. I almost wish Taylor hadn't died in that tragic cruise ship accident" Luke ranted.

"Well at least he died for a cause," Lorelai replied.

"Died for a cause? He pretended to be protesting for veterans rights so he could get free lobster, got drunk and was pushed overboard by a Siberian husky… how is that dying for a cause?" Luke protested.

"You've been standing there ranting for five minutes and you didn't even notice you'd lost something." Lorelai smirked, pointing.

"Rome what are you doing!" Luke yelled chasing after his son who had begun to wrap the kitchen in toilet paper. "Time for bed son" Luke finished, carrying his son upstairs for their bedtime rituals.

As Lorelai watched them reach the top of the stairs the phone began ringing. It was Rory.

"Hi Hun… I was trying to get ahold of you just an hour ago; you'll never believe what I found out…"

"Can the story wait Mom?" Rory interrupted. "Listen I was thinking of… moving back to Stars Hallow for a while just until Logan gets home and I wanted to know if you even had time or room for me, or if that would be ok."

"Of course that would be fantastic Rory! I know Rome would love to see his big sister more often. When are you coming? Wait what about work?" Lorelai exclaimed.

"Didn't you read my last article?" Rory questioned.

"Oh yes I did… I did, and I have to say you were quite… uh spirited about it but don't you think you maybe went a little too far? Oh but don't worry Hun that's just your Mother's opinion." Lorelai answered.

"Actually I did go a little too far, and Paris suspended me." Rory verified. "That's why I think it's time to come home, and I'm so glad you're happy to have me, and this will be great I promise, anyway I have to try to get back to sleep, so we'll sort out the details tomorrow?"

"Sure Hun, talk to you tomorrow." Lorelai uttered.

Lorelai sat thinking and smiling. Rory was finally coming home, it had been five years since they had gotten to spend any sort of sizable amount of time together and now they would have months to chat, watch movies, and eat food prepared directly from Luke's Diner; but the best part was that maybe Rory could be a good influence for Rome… maybe… just maybe he would become a model child and Lorelai would have more free time to have fun and hang out more with her husband and Sookie.

"What are you smiling about?" Luke asked grinning as he came quietly bounding down the stairs.

"Guess what?" Lorelai said.

"I really don't want to guess because more than likely it'll be something dirty and I'm not in that kind of mood tonight, oh by the way I have to tell you what your son did today." Luke sighed exasperated.

"You can tell me later, you still haven't guessed what I'm smiling about." Lorelai whispered.

"Let's see… Dirty Dancing is being remade?" Luke joked.

"Haha… no it will never beat the original." Lorelai exclaimed "And since you can't guess why I'm smiling than I will tell you… wait for it… Rory is coming up to stay with us for a couple months, or until Logan gets back from Beijing!"

"Oh yeah that's fantastic, that's really great." Luke answered faking a smile.

"You aren't happy?" Lorelai pouted.

"You know I am, it's just we're both so busy, what with the diner and the inn, and Rome, that kid's a full time job, he's like a ninja he never does what you expect him to do… That's all I promise." Luke protested.

"But don't you see Luke! Maybe having Rory here will be good for him, she could be a good influence, teach him things we can't. Plus if she offers to babysit once in a while we'll have more time for our romantic life. And maybe we could actually see Sookie and Jackson or Lane and Zach once in a while" Lorelai retorted.

"I'm not sure Rory could handle him, today when I was baiting my hook, he got into the truck, started it, and almost drove it into the lake. I barely made it to the window to throw it in park, the transmission is probably busted. I'm telling you that's the last time I leave my keys anywhere in plain sight. Lesson learned" Luke yelled.

"Wow he really did that? Well I guess we'll just see how things work out, until then Rome is in bed, and we are both really tired, oh and Luke just so you know… I have a brother named Jeffrey Lott, apparently my Father went around the block long before my Mother came into his life."

Luke stared after his wife shocked at this new piece of information.


	4. All Differences Aside

"Dean! Dean! I'm so glad you're home!" Clara yelled running up to her big brother. She jumped into his arms and the two started laughing. "And it's only 2:30 in the morning!" Clara exclaimed exasperated.

"Look at you Clara! Happily married, a wonderful artist, and you still have the time to look amazing!" Dean declared, setting her down, "so how are things in Stars Hallow? Still as quirky as I left them?"

"Of course some things never change." Clara laughed.

"You're right… some things never do change, and that is the way it should be." A deep sly voice from behind the siblings answered.

"And what about you Jess? You've change, is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Clara protested, smiling at her brother.

"Now that is open for interpretation… some believe that my newfound career as a motivational author and speaker are a good thing. However I am not so sure, maybe I was meant to do something else, maybe I should become a fast-food junkie, motor cross racer, or a zookeeper." Jess proposed.

"You have a hard enough time keeping your business partner in line, I don't you could handle the monkeys at the zoo or the monkeys at motor cross for that matter." Clara retorted.

"Hey I'm not the bad one, it's Jess that goes out drinking at awful hours of the morning, and comes to high school assemblies smelling like stale beer." Dean stressed.

"Well I'm just glad you two got over your differences to become business partners, I know you guys help so many teens with your speeches and books." Clara said somberly.

"I hope so, I'm not so sure though, we haven't gotten asked to come to a school in months, that's why we decided to come back here. That and I wanted to meet your new husband, see if he's being good to you." Dean taunted.

"Well ya know he's not such a new husband anymore we've been married for three years; it's not my fault you haven't been home in such a long." Clara pouted.

"Never mind that Clara, we're back now and we can spend lots of time together. So tell me is Brandon anything like Bootsy? I would have never believed Bootsy could have a successful lawyer son, living in Chicago that he had no clue about. Much less that this lawyer son of his would want to move up here to get to know his Father. I mean who wants to know Bootsy?" Dean chuckled.

"I don't if I could compare him to his Father but he is a bit like him, why don't we go inside I'll tell you more, it's chilly and the neighbors are probably ready to have a conniption. Jess are you coming?" Clara offered.

"Yes I'm right behind you; I'm just going to get some more of this fresh air." Jess replied lighting a cigarette. He looked out over the town square and saw his Uncle Luke's diner. He wandered if his Uncle missed him at all, or if he ever thought about him. Then he thought about his Mom, who was living in Philadelphia with her husband who had surprisingly started a successful construction company. Most of all he thought of Rory, who he left behind to marry a rich, jerk. He wandered if he would see Rory again, and if he did, could he make her fall in love with him just as he had planned?


	5. Child Prodigy & Asperger's

"You're going to be a great chef someday Davey, I just know it" grinned Sookie. "I mean just look at that breakfast soufflé, its perfect!"

"Thanks Mom! Are we ready to check the muffins, they better be done or I will be late for school… which I have to go to, even though Martha doesn't" Davey pouted.

"Don't worry Hun, we put them in the oven a half an hour ago, they should be perfect; and don't be angry at your sister, maybe you can come with me when I go to New York, to cook with Paula Deen." Sookie assured.

"Are you really going to be cooking on the Today Show?" Davey exclaimed.

"Yes! And it's going to be great I'm going to make a chicken with a little bit of couscous, parsley, maybe some rosemary… oh and it's going to be on a bed of rice…" Sookie interjected.

"Oh come on Sookie really, the boy is only nine years old he doesn't need to learn to cook that fancily, I mean I'm just surprised he knows how to turn on the stove. When I was his age I set the kitchen on fire and killed my pet snake Rodrigo. May he rest in peace" Jackson interrupted, while he walked into the kitchen. "Son, why don't you take a break and go wake up your siblings."

"Could you not give him such a hard time Jackson? Just because he isn't showing any desire to carry on the gardening business and is instead showing a talent in cooking… which is obviously something I'm very proud of, I mean he is such a talented little thing…"

"Listen why don't we stop talking about our sons obviously talent and try to get down to the bottom of Martha's problems. She's sick again; it's obvious that she doesn't want to go to school. I think this Asperger's is getting out of hand. We need to do something." Jackson suggested.

"Martha will get over this Jackson we just need to give her some time." Sookie prodded.

"Asperger's isn't something you get over, you live with it your whole life, but you can fight through it; we need to help her. Maybe therapy? We could talk to Lulu about it; after all she is Martha's teacher." Jackson answered.

"Jackson we aren't going to discuss this any longer, the kids will be going to school soon and Lane agreed to babysit Martha, so until the kids are all gone we won't be discussing this matter any longer." Sookie snipped.

"Listen all I'm saying is that maybe we should consider homeschooling her, I know you can't do it but maybe I could, growing vegetables isn't a full time job. It could be great, we could work through her issues and she would learn in a more stable environment." Jackson pleaded.

"Are you joking?" Sookie laughed. "You are going to teach our daughter?"

"And what's so funny about that?" Jackson questioned, slightly offended.

"Jackson, the other day Luke ordered two dozen heads of lettuce and you gave him six heads, plus he asked for green beans and you gave him snap peas, and there's a difference Hun" Sookie leered.

"So basically you're calling me dumb, then" Jackson said now fully affronted. "Well we'll just see who you'll be calling dumb after Martha skips two grades by homeschooling!" Jackson interjected, as he left.

"Where are you going? You said you'd walk the kids to school…" Sookie whined. "That man! Sometimes he can be so difficult!"


	6. Enemies? Or Frenemies?

"Michel! Michel where are youuuu? The guest in room two needs more towels" Lorelai hollered.

"I am here. And I am not so deaf that no matter how loudly you screech I will hear you" Michel stressed.

"I'm sorry Michel I didn't catch that, did you say there's an opening at Al's Pancake World and you were considering taking the position as fry boy and quitting your meager job as the inn's concierge?" Lorelai taunted.

"Fine. I will take the towels to the guest in room two, but just remember I am not liable if those towels find their way to a place where even the crows don't wish to speak of." Michel murmured.

"Thank you Michel" Lorelai leered, suppressing the laugh that would surely set Michel over the edge of sanity.

"Lorelai! Lorelai! You have to see this! Oh this is horrible, what are we going to do?" Sookie howled.

"Sookie what is it? What's wrong?" Lorelai questioned.

"Look at the front cover of the Hartford Courant, just look!" Sookie exclaimed, breathlessly.

"Ok let's see…" Lorelai started.

"Read it aloud" Sookie interrupted.

"That's what I was doing, ok so it says… "For several years there has been question of what exactly would happen to the site of the former Independence Inn, in Stars Hallow, a town just a half an hour from Hartford. Since 2004 the Inn has sat uninhabited. Many believe this is a result of a review by Edward Grevord in 1991, in which the hotel connoisseur claimed that the site was haunted by a family of pioneers who were murdered by Confederate soldiers in 1864. His claim states that any who buy the site will have extreme misfortune. The site does in fact have a long history of being the setting for violent raids and murders; the family who originally settled the land, were in fact killed in 1864, although the reason for their deaths is unknown, the site sat uninhabited for almost seventy years. The large home that sat on the site was restored and opened as an Inn in 1923, but the Inn's time as the social center of Stars Hallow was short lived as it had to be closed down after the Stock Market Crash of 1929. It again sat unoccupied until 1956 when it became a community center, it was notably used for meetings and Stars Hallow High School dances, however it was again closed in 1963 when a student brought a gun to the high schools' prom, and killed twelve people. In 1974 it was purchased to again be opened as an Inn and was thus named the Independence Inn. Ironically the Independence Inn's thirty year history was plagued with much misfortune; beginning with the decapitation of tennis star Henry Davidson by the manager of rival Carey Emhart in 1978, just four years after the Inn opened, the last straw came in 2003 when a fire caused by faulty electrical wiring closed the Inn down permanently. After the Inn closed it was bought by the government to become a federal site, as they wished to build a courthouse there. However a courthouse has never been built, many believe this is a result of the death of town chairman Taylor Doose, just three days after he signed the form allowing for the courthouse to be built. Since then the fate of the site, now known as "The Plague of Misfortune" has been unknown, that is until just one week ago when millionaire Eric Hatter purchased the plot of land and made known his plans to open it as an Inn, once again. His plans are to name the Inn, the 'New Day Inn', as he believes that it will give the site a fresh start. Hatter has also hired famous French Chef Mongo Rousseau, who recently married Hatter's sister. Rousseau believes this will be his chance to settle down in a small town and start a family with his new wife. Amenities of the new Inn will include; horseback riding, an indoor tennis and basketball court, a pool and Jacuzzi, free wireless internet, and the ability (for a small fee) to live stream movies from Netflix on a 42" flat screen television. The décor will feature a modern vibe, with bright colors that seem to pop off the wall, and the inclusion of many modern art pieces from some of the more famous artists of the day. Hatter claims that the Inn is already book until August of 2014, and will soon be hosting the likes of Steven Spielberg who is scheduled to stay at the Inn in July of 2013. The New Day Inn will join the already popular Stars Hallow Inn, the Dragonfly, which has had hundreds of four and five star reviews from some of the best hotel connoisseurs. The question is can the Dragonfly maintain their current top status? Or will they have to make some major changes to compete with the likes of the New Day Inn. Currently the Dragonfly has just half the amenities that the New Day Inn does. This could be an interesting flight to the top."

"Oh. My. Gosh. How! … This can't be happening! Not only are we getting a new rival, but they also happen to be taking over the place we used to work at! And booked until May of 2014, we aren't even booked to the end of the year!" Lorelai breathed in disbelief.

"I know this is terrible, what are we going to do? Chef Mongo Rousseau is amazing, I saw him on Food Network's Iron Chef and he actually beat Bobby Flay, I'm telling you if he can beat Bobby Flay then he has to be good!" Sookie squealed.

"I know what we could do… but it would be painful, for me at least…" Lorelai groaned.

"What? What can we do?" Sookie exclaimed.

"Well let's just say I'm going to have to make a very painful visit to Hartford, to see the Gilmores," Lorelai replied, annoyance covering every crevice of her face.


	7. Gifted vs The Underachiever

"Okay so I was thinking maybe we should pull a Rory, ya know make a pro/con list, it seems to be our only option, how are we going to decide any other way?" Zack emphasized.

"Zack I thought I told you not to say that name in this house, besides I'm not letting the fate of our son rest on a pro/con list" Lane angrily replied.

"Well than how are we going to decide? This is a big decision. I'm just saying we already have some pro's; like if Steve were too skip two grades then he could probably have his pick of colleges, and I'm sure we can build more on that" Zack answered sheepishly.

"Yes but we also have con's; like what if the other kids pick on him because he's younger? Not to mention we would be splitting the boys up, because let's face it Kwan isn't that smart" Lane protested.

"But this could be a big opportunity, Steve is way smarter than I've ever dreamed of being, he could do anything. Who knows maybe he could even come up with the cure for cancer, wouldn't that be great babe!" Zack replied.

"Listen Zack why don't we just wait another year, okay, then the baby will be here and we can see if Steve is really ready to skip two grades, and until then let's just focus on getting him more prepared, in the event that he does skip grades" Lane hissed.

"But babe…" Zack started.

"No Zack we're done, besides we have to think about Kwan too, he's really struggling at school and Mrs. Gleason thinks it would be best if we pull him out of regular school in favor of a less advanced program" Lane interrupted.

"Which, I think is absolutely pointless, the kid'll be fine, and if he has his Dad's guitar skills than he won't need school," Zack noted.

"Yes but what if he doesn't want to be a guitarist, plus I thought you should always want better for your kids, just because you're a good guitarist doesn't mean you make a lot of money, and I know because I balance the checkbook, we should want both Kwan and Steve to be happy in whatever career they like" Lane observed.

"Well Kwan shouldn't be the priority right now, Steve is the one we should be worried about, his future is in our hands, if Kwan can't find a job then I'm sure Luke or Lorelai would give him one, and he could live here with us. But with Steve we could have a whole nation in our hands. Can't you see it now… and the Nobel Prize Winner is… Steve Van Gerbig! Can't you see it babe?" Zack exclaimed.

"… Zack do you think we show too much favoritism towards Steve?" Lane questioned.

"What? No way we hang out with him all the time, besides he's never shown any interest in school, we shouldn't worry about him, I'm sure he'll be just fine" Zack stressed. "Like I said I'm sure having two musical parents gave him some kind of talent in music, I bet he'll be like a famous guitarist for a band as big as Sting or something."

"I hope so, I'm telling you Zack I really hope this baby is a girl because I don't know if I can handle anymore boys" Lane shivered.

"Ya can you see it babe! The world's first brother and sister pair to win the Nobel Prize!" Zack crooned.

"Zack the baby is going to be whatever she wants to be and if she doesn't want to win a Nobel Prize then she's not going to win the Nobel Prize!" Lane scolded.


	8. Richard's Boy & Emily's Girls

"Emily have you seen my putter?" Richard murmured.

"It's on the back porch, honestly Richard you lose that putter every other day!" Emily proclaimed.

"Oh are you speaking to me now? Well never mind I have to meet Jeffrey in an hour and I don't intend on being late, so I best be going" Richard observed.

"Yes you get to go to the club while I'm stuck here babysitting the spawn of that devil woman's boy, and I'm not even the one who got us into this mess!" Emily scoffed.

"Emily now don't speak that way about the girls, they are very kind and well behaved girls, as I've said before I'm sure you'll love them. It's nice that you're bonding with them, after all you are their Grandmother, much as you hate to admit it" Richard emphasized.  
>"I'm their step-Grandmother, there's a difference, for all I know they could be spreading the rumor that I was your mistress while you were with that devil woman! Besides I am not their Grandmother, the only Granddaughter I have is Rory and that is perfectly fine," Emily ranted.<p>

"Well I agree that Rory is a perfectly fine Granddaughter, but I feel I need to embrace my other Grandchildren as well, and I recommend that you embrace them too because I'm going to be spending time with them. Not to mention Rory lives in New York and I can see how much you miss her company, perhaps this is the perfect opportunity to gain new uh… shopping companions, let's say, you love to shop Emily and so do they," Richard retorted.

"I'm sure they don't have the sophistication to properly shop alongside me, they'd probably buy shorts that don't even cover the proper areas and purses with ponies and gumdrops on them," Emily taunted.

"Well they are only thirteen and fifteen, they're still just children, and if they want to shop for purses with ponies and gumdrops then I'm sure they could pull it off without too much scandal. However, might I add that Samantha is allergic to most animals and Tammy is allergic to gelatin, so I don't think they'll be begging for either any time soon," Richard grumbled.

"Oh that's just great, I asked the cook to make horsemeat pie alongside lemon Jell-O, oh well I guess the girls will just have to come another day!" Emily joked.

"Emily, I know for a fact you're having chicken for the main course and lemon custard for desert, so don't try to play that game with me" Richard scolded.

"Well I wish you had at least asked whether or not I wanted to babysit two small children on what is one of the few days I have to spend time with my friends at the DAR" Emily retorted.

"I have to go Emily, you will have fun I promise the girls are almost as witty as Rory, anyway Jeffrey's wife will be over to drop the girls off in about an hour so you have until then, and might I recommend checking on that horsemeat pie" Richard teased.

"So Jeffrey how's the insurance business been treating you?" Richard questioned, attempting to make small talk.

"I can't complain really, it pays the bills, and it's better than working at McDonald's" Jeffrey teased.

"I remember paying the bills, although I also remember the extravagant trips I could pay for. My wife certainly loves taking trips. She always says she found the perfect man for her because unlike many I could actually pay for her little adventures to Paris and Rome" Richard laughed, lining the club up with the ball and taking a swing.

"Well my Alania is a homebody so we don't take many trips; I do remember one we went on to Hawaii" Jeffrey replied, smiling at the memory. "The boys were very small, and very unequipped to ride a plane for hours. By the time we got there Alania was ready to go home, but I remember that particular trip because Andrew and Zeke set the hotel lobby on fire. They bumped into a waiter who was carrying a tray of smoking sushi, and he flung it onto the dress of a very rich and important heiress. I have to say that was one of the most embarrassing and costly moments of my life" Jeffrey said chuckling. "Yes I am glad that Zeke joined the army, it gave him the discipline he needed and now he's ready to carry on the family business and settle down with his fiancé."

"They're good boys Jeffrey, and Andrew is almost ready to graduate from college I understand?" Richard questioned.

"Yes sir, top of his class at Yale, he wants to be a politician, and who knows he could go as far as the white house if he's lucky" Jeffrey proclaimed proudly.

"Well he certainly has my vote!" Richard laughed, equally proud of his Grandson. Although he couldn't quite understand it, Richard already felt immense happiness and pride in his newfound family. Perhaps it was because he, like Emily, missed having Rory in his life.

"Speaking of votes Samantha just won freshman class president at Chilton, can you believe it? I'm telling you Richard she and her brother are going to be competing for the presidency here in about 40-some years! Then again the fact that she wants to be a doctor might stand in the way of that dream" Jeffrey joked.

"A doctor, that's fantastic! Where's she going to go to school?" Richard exclaimed.

"Yale of course! I'd disown her if she went anywhere else, then again I might have to face the fact that eventually she'll have to go to Harvard if she really wants to become a doctor" Jeffrey confessed.

"Harvard's a fine school too, although I agree it can't beat Yale, Rory's friend attended Harvard medical school, she dropped out two months in, but now she's the editor of the New York Times, a position I believe should have been given to Rory; but far be it from me to decide whose qualified and who isn't" Richard explained.

"I really hope that my family and I can meet Rory someday, and Lorelai for that matter, our last meeting wasn't so great if you catch my drift. Has Emily gotten any better since we last talked?" Jeffrey faltered. "I'm sorry Richard I know that's none of my business."

"No it's fine, she's gotten a little bit better, perhaps getting to know the girls better today will help her see that everything is alright" Richard murmured.

"Thank you so much for agreeing to babysit the girls!" Alania acknowledged. "Girls you better be on your best behavior for Mrs. Gilmore."

"We will Mom" Samantha and Tammy answered in unison.

"Alright good girls, I'll see you next Wednesday, Tammy remember that you have dance lessons on Mondays, and Samantha, remember that you have debate practice on Tuesdays after school" Alania reminded them.

"Ya Mom we know, don't worry about it Daddy always remembers to take us and pick us up, we'll be fine" Samantha beamed.

"Okay well I guess I should get going then, I don't want to miss my flight, bye girls, love you" Alania stuttered.

"Bye Mom! Love you!" the girls answered.

"Have fun with Mrs. Gilmore..." Alania whispered glancing at Emily.

"Have a safe flight Alania" Emily declared "and I'm sure we'll have plenty of fun! Won't we girls." Emily said, and then shut the door.

"So ladies what would you like to do? I have a television set if you like watching television. Or maybe you'd like to…" Emily started.

"Do you have any games?" Tammy asked.

"Or makeup? I love giving makeovers and I should practice, I want to become a beautician" Samantha joked.

"You want to become what?" Emily stuttered, shocked.

"I'm just kidding Mrs. Gilmore, but I do love giving makeovers, and in actuality I want to become a doctor" Samantha giggled.

"A doctor that's wonderful! Anyway games sound fun, and I'm sure that we could find something to use for makeovers" Emily replied. "I'll have the maid look in my Granddaughter's room, I bought her a lot of makeup, but she never really used it."

"That sound's great Mrs. Gilmore, do you have twister?" Tammy asked.

Soon the girls had the twister game that Emily borrowed from her neighbors, who shockingly obliged, spread out on the floor and were explaining the rules to Emily.

"You and Tammy should start, so go to either side of the mat; you have to put one foot on the blue circle and the other on the yellow circle. Then I'll spin the spinner and call out the body part and color you should be on…" Samantha started. "And if you fall or take your body part off the colored circle, then you lose."

"That sounds… uh well to be honest it sounds sort of painful" Emily croaked.

"Don't worry Mrs. Gilmore you'll be fine, Twister is really fun and I promise I won't make fun of you if you lose" Tammy teased.

"Ha we'll see who will be the loser" Emily chuckled.

"Okay first put your right hand on yellow… okay then your left foot on red…" Samantha said. Soon the girls lost track of time, in giggles and goofy Twister positions. Finally Tammy slipped and Samantha proclaimed Emily the winner.

"I have to say girls I haven't had this much fun since I was a girl myself" Emily mused giggling.

"Twister is a very fun game, but are you ready for makeovers?" Samantha proposed.

"Sure let's do it!" Emily replied, smiling.

"It's been a pleasure Richard; I hope we can do it again sometime!" Jeffrey exclaimed.

"I certainly hope so too, I just wonder how the girls are getting along, I'm very much hoping they might want to do it again" Richard replied.

"I'm sure they had a great time" Jeffrey promised.

"Well and there they are!" Richard said as he walked into the house. "And they seem to be having fun."

"Oh Richard, we're just giving each other makeovers it's so much fun, and earlier we played Twister, and I actually won!" Emily giggled.

"Look at you Emily I haven't seen you giggle this much since before we were married!" Richard chuckled.

"Well those girls certainly know how to have a good time, and did you know that Samantha is freshman class president?" Emily implored.

"So I've heard, but I'm glad you've had a good time! Did the girls enjoy lunch and everything?" Richard questioned.

"They did, especially the lemon custard, Tammy couldn't get enough of it!" Emily remarked. "I'd like to ask them to stay for dinner, if that's okay with you."

"Of course that sounds great! I'll ask Jeffrey, than you can ask the girls if he says yes," Richard replied quite pleased.

"Ya know Richard, I think you were right I really have missed having a Granddaughter to spend time with," Emily whispered.

"Wow! I'm right, that must be a first!" Richard laughed.


	9. That's My Boy

"Davey I've been looking for you everywhere. Boy do I have a surprise for you!" Exclaimed Sookie as she pulled Davey away from his friends.

"What is it Mom?" Davey questioned.

"I just entered you in a cooking contest; it's going to be in Hartford on the 24th! Aren't you excited, this is going to be great!" Sookie proclaimed.

"But I don't want to do a cooking contest, especially not then I have a football game, the guys are counting on me!" Davey pleaded.

"Oh come on Hun! If you really want to be a great chef than we're going to have to start getting your name out there, there are thousands of other kids your age who will end up being chefs! I need to know that you can beat out the competition" Sookie scolded.

"But I don't want to beat out the competition, I don't really care that much, Mom honest," Davey again pleaded.

"Listen Hun I paid three hundred dollars to enter you into this contest and you aren't backing down now, there's a lot riding on this, I have to prove you're better than Chef Rousseau!" Sookie pleaded.

"Who's Chef Rousseau?" Davey asked, baffled.

"He's uh no one, it's not important Hun, what's important is that you do as Mommy asks and enter this contest, because I'm going to be really mad if I paid a non-refundable entry fee just for you to decide you're a big boy now and can make your own decisions" Sookie replied angrily.

"Fine Mom I'll do it, but I just want you to know that I'm not happy about it!" Davey yelled.

"Your happiness is not important right now…" Sookie whispered under her breath.

"What?" Davey asked.

"Nothing Hun, never mind" Sookie retorted. "Let's just get home and see if Martha had a good day at school."

"That's great Martha!" Jackson exclaimed as Sookie and Davey walked into the house.

"What's great?" Sookie implored.

"Martha made a new friend today, tell her honey" Jackson exposed. "Oh come on Martha it's Mom you can tell her… alright well I'll tell her then" Jackson continued seeing that Martha wasn't going to explain. "She meant a new friend today his name is Jarrod, apparently he just moved here, at least that's what Martha says, she doesn't know his last name. Have you heard of anyone moving here recently?"

"No I haven't, I'll ask Miss Patty when we go to the diner, Lorelai invited us for dinner, I hope you don't mind" Sookie explained.

"Great, what time does she want us there?" Jackson asked.

"At five-thirty, so in about a half hour" Sookie informed.

"Lorelai we're here!" Sookie yelled.

"Oh hey you guys, I'm so glad you could make it, hey kids sit wherever you'd like" Lorelai invited, as she continued scrubbing Rome's hands. "Mr. Genius here stuck his hands in a bucket of petroleum jelly, didn't you Mister. Of course it was all worth it to see Kirk's face, he was planning on using it to get his car out of his garage… it's a long story."

"Sounds like it would be, knowing Kirk" Sookie laughed. "Oh Miss Patty I have question."

"Yes what is it honey, Miss Patty knows all" answered Miss Patty.

"I was wandering if any families have moved into town recently, in particular a family with a son named Jarrod?" Sookie questioned.

"Oh I'm sorry honey not that I know of there isn't even a child in town named Jarrod, what makes you ask?" Miss Patty asked.

"Nothing… just wondering" Sookie answered as she looked at an equally confused Jackson.

"So kids what'll you have?" Luke questioned.

"I'll have an imaginary sandwich… I mean turkey sandwich" replied Jackson.


	10. Consider Yourself Frozen

"Sookie stop freaking out, I don't want to go through this again" Lorelai complained.

"I'm sorry it's just so hard to think we might lose the business we've worked so hard for just because a new Inn moves into town!" Sookie protested.

"We won't lose the Inn, because I'm going to my parent's house to ask for the money to pay for a spa, I really wish I didn't have to do it, but I guess I won't have Friday nights free anymore. This whole ordeal really makes me want a cup of coffee… Luke!" Lorelai yelled.

"I'm not giving you any coffee; it'd be cheating on your no-coffee diet. Besides remember what happened last time you had coffee?" Luke chattered.

"Eh it's a little fuzzy in my memory," Lorelai replied.

"Exactly when you drink coffee you forget things it's a known fact!" Luke declared.

"First of all that's not true, and second I'm not sure you remember what actually happened that day, don't you remember how I slipped on Bootsy's beer bottle and hit my head on Kirk's podium at the town meeting, and then we went to the doctor and he told me to stop drinking coffee because it would slowly destroy my insides… oh and I had a concussion, not important" Lorelai defended.

"I don't think I remember that" Luke answered.

"It's also the day I went into labor and delivered Rome, so you might not remember it well since you fainted, oh by the way I'm taking Rome with me to my parent's house, the cuteness factor will help my cause… come along Rome," Lorelai breathed.

"Fine, see you in a couple hours" Luke proposed.

"Better not be that long," whispered Lorelai, under her breath.

"Great second time in a week I've had to knock on this door, do you want to do it honey?" Lorelai questioned; and Rome knocked on the large ornately carved door.

"Hello… I'm not sure if I should let you in… the the Gilmores said they don't want to be bothered," a maid on the other side of the door stuttered.

"Oh don't worry about it, I'm their daughter, I just needed to ask them…" Lorelai started.

"Oh I was informed the Gilmores only had a son… but if you say you're their daughter, then please come in" the maid replied.

"Okay then, where are they?" Lorelai asked.

"They're in the dining room, having dinner, with their son and Granddaughters," the maid replied.

"Wow so they're all one big happy family now, are they? Well I'm sure that Jeffrey is perfect for the role of prodigy child and son-my-Father's-never-had" Lorelai leered. "Let's just get this over with, come on Hun let's go." Lorelai finished, pulling Rome behind her.

"Lorelai! What are you doing here?" Richard questioned.

"What a girl can't return to the place where she was… born and raised? I see you're busy with company, how nice, and did you even think to invite my family to the party. Oh no I get it, you still think I'm a failure, and you still disapprove of my choice to marry Luke… don't you. Well you're being a great role model for your Grandson" Lorelai ranted.

"Lorelai where is all this coming from? This dinner was a last minute idea; the girls spent the day with me, while your Father was golfing with Jeffrey. We just thought it would be rude not to invite them to dinner when the snails were nearly prepared and they were standing right in the foyer!" Emily protested. "Plus you hate snails! You've told us several times!"

"Ha yes she has I can vouch for that!" Richard agreed.

"Listen maybe we should go Richard, you obviously have some issues to sort out, and our presence here is not a calming factor, in fact it's rather a contributing factor" Jeffrey murmured.

"Nonsense, you and your daughters have just as much right to be here as Lorelai and her son! We were in the middle of a dinner party when Lorelai so rudely interrupted, so if anyone should be leaving it's her!" Richard yelled.

"Great so now I've been replaced! By none other than the bastard child himself! Oh Rome don't repeat that word Hun" Lorelai screamed. "And you Mom I never thought you would give into this treachery! I came all the way from Stars Hallow, because I thought you might like to see your Grandson!"

"Lorelai?" Emily protested, as she gave Lorelai a suspicious glare.

"Okay so maybe I need… money too, but that's not the point, besides you told me anytime I wanted to add something to the Inn that you would be willing to pay for it, with the usual terms of course!" Lorelai whined.

"Listen if that's all you needed then you could have saved yourself all this embarrassment and asked outright for the money, I mean really Lorelai are you that starved for attention that you need to take away my newfound relationship with your Brother and his family!" Richard replied. "Will $40000 do the trick?"

"Yes" Lorelai answered.

"Come here Rome let your Grandma get a good look at you, just look how big you've gotten!" Emily proclaimed. "Look at this boy Richard he's going to be as big as his Grandfather someday!"

"Here you are Lorelai," Richard said, as he handed her the check.

"So we'll be seeing Rome, Luke, and you, on the 26th, your Father and I won't be here on the 19th as we have other business to attend to, so you're still free for one more week" Emily crooned.

"Yes, and you might see Rory too, I guess we'll see" Lorelai retorted.

"Rory! She's really going to be here!" Emily proclaimed.

"Yes she's actually coming in on the train tonight so I better get going, come on Rome" Lorelai transmitted this information.

"I hope you know, Mom, I'm not going to forgive and forget so easily" Lorelai began as Emily walked her too the door. "That new 'son' of yours is no Brother of mine, don't get me wrong, I'm glad I have the money, but if I were Dad and you, I would consider myself frozen." Lorelai finished, as she walked towards the car, not ever looking back, because she knew she would see the understanding and hurt on her Mother's face. "Bye Mom."

Although Lorelai was happy that she had the money for the Inn, she couldn't help but fight the jealously that seeped under her skin. Soon before she realized it, she made a promise to herself that she would freeze her parents out as long as she could, because while she didn't understand it, she was quite possible the angriest she had ever been at them. The 26th… hmm I'm sure Rome wouldn't mind having the imaginary flu on that day…


	11. Reunited

"So when are you getting off the train! Hurry up Hun; I can't wait to see you!" Lorelai yelled, happily, while talking to Rory on the phone.

"Mom the train just pulled in give me time to, I don't know breath for a second. Sitting in an uncomfortable seat for hours while pregnant is actually a lot harder than it looks so give me a break" Rory protested. "How will I recognize you? I haven't seen you in so long!"

"Oh that'll be easy, I'm the one wearing the chauffer's suit, and holding up the sign that reads Huntzberger, plus I have a blue child with me, Rome got into some dye, we're not sure how though" Lorelai joked.

"Mom you aren't really wearing a chauffer's suit are you?" Rory panicked.

"No of course not, you know me well enough to know that I would not wear a chaffer's suit in public!" Lorelai protested.

"Well you have made some questionable fashion choices in recent years. It must be the old age" Rory teased.

"Name one bad fashion choice" Lorelai again protested.

"Three words, fuzzy, pink, UGGS!" Rory laughed.

"Uh excuse me I do remember getting complimented at least once on my choice of footwear!" Lorelai murmured.

"Yes and that compliment was a thank you because a dog got infatuated with those boots, followed us home, and ended up being Kirk's dog, that had been missing for three months" Rory stressed. "Mom I can see you! Oh my Rome really is blue, are you sure he's okay?"

"We took him to the doctor! Come here give your Mother a hug!" Lorelai yelled through the crowd, as she clicked end call on her cell phone.

"I'm so glad to see you Mom, you have no idea, and I'm so relieved you aren't wearing a chauffeur's suit!" Rory exclaimed. "And look at you Rome, you've gotten so big!"

"Can you say hi Rome? don't you remember your big sister?" Lorelai asked. "No, well I'm sure you two will get to know each other plenty over the next couple months" Lorelai finished winking at Luke as he walked up.

"Hey Rory! It's great to see you kid. I got you something from the gift shop, I felt kind of embarrassed that we didn't even get you a homecoming present, so here" Luke said, smiling.

"Wow it's a… t-shirt that says Spring Break 2012 in a double extra- large, that's great Luke, thank you!" Rory replied, trying to seem excited.

"Well it was between that and a mug that said "I'm a little engineer" so I figured the shirt would be the way to go" Luke answered, clearly not ruffled by Rory's look of disgust at the extremely large and inappropriate t-shirt.

"So are we ready to get home, you must be starving" Luke murmured.

"Oh no I'm fine I ate on the train, I don't want you to have to cook anything" Rory protested.

"Come on Rory, you know I love cooking for you and your Mom, besides it's been a good four years since you've had any freshly made food from the diner, it'll be no trouble at all!" Luke insisted.

"Mm mm you were right Mom this is really amazing, I'm so glad you added Coney dogs to the menu Luke!" Rory interjected.

"Your Mom insisted she wouldn't leave me alone until I made changes to the menu, I guess that's what getting married entitled… what's mine is yours" Luke laughed, looking down at his wife, and Rome who was stuffing a hot dog into his mouth.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door of the diner.

"Luke are you open!" Babette called from the steps "can I get a piece of pie, see my blood sugar's low, and the doctor, you know Doctor Barnette, hunky fellow, such a hot dog, anyway he told me if I started feeling shaky to eat something sugary, and I'm feeling shaky, so…"

"What do I look like a twenty-four hour eatery, diner closes at 6:00 and it's 9:45" Luke answered; however upon seeing their disappointed faces, he changed his mind. "Fine come on in, yes Patty you can come in to," Luke indicated.

"Thanks doll, hey look at this the diner looks smaller at night, doesn't it Patty?" Babette inquired.

"Yes it does, Luke have you ever noticed how creepy your diner is this late at night? Oh look its little Rome! How are you honey? Look at those cute little cheeks, I just want to pinch them" Babette answered.

"Miss Patty did you notice that we have a guest in our midst?" Lorelai questioned, slightly shocked at their lack of attention towards Rory.

"Oh yes, yes I did, it's nice to see you again Rory. Wow look at that boy stuff his face, he's going to be as strong and tall as his Daddy one day!" Miss Patty exclaimed.

"I sure hope so this town needs more tall boys, have you seen Sookie and Jackson's boy, he looks like he's five years old! Oh Luke can I get that pie now?" Babette insisted. "Apple if you have it Hun, remember Dean? He was such a hunk!"

"Didn't you hear? Dean and Jess are back in town, they're here to see Clara. Apparently they've become business partners, some sort of writing thing, don't ask me, that family can keep more secrets than my ex-husband!" Miss Patty gossiped.

"Really, when did they get here?" Babette exclaimed, as she stuffed a piece of pie in her mouth.

"Just yesterday, and I think they're planning on staying for four or five days" Miss Patty answered.

"Well I guess we should get going, we don't want to be late for karaoke, thanks for the pie Luke, see you Lorelai, and Rome work on getting taller!" Babette yelled as she walked out of the diner.

"Wow that was…" Lorelai started.

"Awkward… what was wrong with them? They acted like I was invisible; did I do something to them… or what?" Rory stuttered.

"I don't think so, in fact they haven't really asked about you much for a while" Lorelai replied.

"So that's it then, I guess I've officially been replace!" Rory yelled. "I'm so stupid, I should've known that coming back to the town that used to treat me like royalty would just forget about me, when Rome came along… how could they do this to me? Don't you remember the time that Taylor tried to make me Ice Cream Princess?"

"Rory, don't say that name!" Lorelai screeched.

"Why? And what name?" Rory asked, confused.

"Don't say the name T-a-y-l-o-r! Kirk made it a taboo ever since Taylor died; personally I think he's been watching too much Harry Potter" Lorelai informed.

"Wait, who died!" Rory screamed.

"Didn't you know that T-a-y-l-o-r died? I must have told you, it was the talk of the town for a long time. There was a public mourning and everything, then the fight for new town selectman broke out at his burial, of course it ended with Kirk winning. That is after he set Andrew's underpants on fire, accidently of course. It was a big mess. For the first time in ten years the cops actually got to use their sirens" Lorelai noted.

"No this can't be how did I not know about Taylor's death!" Rory yelled.

"Shhh! Rory don't say that name in this diner!" Luke whispered.

"Whatever! Nothing is going to happen if I say the name Taylor, nothing!" Rory screeched.

"Alright everyone inside Luke's diner come out with their hands up!" yelled a voice from outside.

"Thank you Rory, you see what you've done, now we're going to have to deal with Officer Barney Fife!" Lorelai scoffed.

"Kirk! There's no need to use the bullhorn, we were just explaining to Rory that you can't say the name of a certain dead town selectman, while in the presence of any citizen of Stars Hallow!" Luke exclaimed, while giving Kirk a menacing look.

"It doesn't matter; you should have briefed her beforehand, Jerry I'm afraid you're going to have to take these four to the clink!" Kirk yelled.

"First of all I'm right here Kirk, there's no need to yell. Second I don't have any reason to take this normal looking family to prison for saying a name that someone as unimportant as the likes of you made into a taboo" Jerry retorted.

"I thought we discussed this. Could you at least put them in the car and turn the sirens on" Kirk begged.

"No Kirk I'm going back to the station so I can watch Golden Girls, I've already missed ten minutes, come on Anton let's go," Jerry answered, motioning to the officer.

"You can't do this, I could have you fired, and I'm town selectman!" Kirk proclaimed, as he ran after the police car.

"I'm telling you that kid is a monster… I really miss you-know-who" Luke sighed. "Let's go home."


	12. Luke's Seething

"Good morning Luke, can I have the usual?" Rory asked, half asleep.

"Of course, coming right up… Hey did you have a rough night or something? You don't so well, you're pale and you look kind of sick" Luke noted.

"I had a dream that T-a-y-l-o-r was haunting me" Rory whispered.

"Eh don't worry about it, for a long time after he died I dreamed that I was the Siberian husky that pushed him overboard, I sure do envy that dog" Luke joked. "Anyway I'll be in the back, Tom is dropping off some more hot dogs, and I'll put in your order."

"Caesar I need a stack of pancake, two eggs over easy, one sausage link, one bacon link, plus hash browns, and orange juice…" Luke started.

"Luke why didn't you tell me Rory was here?" Caesar beamed.

"Just get the order, I've gotta go meet Tom and bring in my order… before the hot dogs get any pinker," Luke finished. "Hey Tom, here let me help you with that."

"Say thanks Luke, pretty heavy stuff, hot dogs are, I still think you would sell a lot more brats" Tom replied.

"I think I'll just stick with the hot dogs, for now, besides my wife hates brats" Luke chuckled.

"Ya speaking of family, ya know I talked to my daughter the other day, you remember Lori, she goes to the same college as your daughter April, up in Tuscan… well I gotta tell you Luke, she's been hearing things about April that I'm not sure you'd know about, bad things" Tom blubbered.

"What are you talking about, what kind of rumors has she heard?" Luke prompted.

"She says that she saw your daughter with Phoenix Penderbroke, and he's a bad dude Luke. A very bad dude. They say he's the ring leader of a gang up in Tuscan. Anyway Lori says she's seen April doing drugs with him late at night in an alleyway behind the beauty parlor, where she works. She also says that for the first time this semester April didn't make the Dean's list. Not to mention when my wife and I went to visit Lori, I saw that April has gotten a lot of tattoos. Anyway I just wanted to tell you, Lori seemed pretty concerned, and they used to be friends until April started hanging out with that Phoenix" Tom shrugged… "So I'll see you next week, think about those brats will you?"

"Wait, that can't be true, April is a straight A student, she would never let a guy ruin that… I'm sure of it" Luke thundered, in disbelief.

"Maybe Lori's wrong then, I don't know, I just wanted to warn you in case the situation got out of hand… I'm really sorry Luke, she really is a good girl, but nobody can resist the lure of Penderbroke" Tom mused.

"Yes that's right I'm inquiring about my daughter April's current grades… yes I can hold… she's what! She can't be failing all her classes, she's a straight A student!" Luke yelled. "Yes I understand it's not your problem but… she hasn't been attending classes! Where has she been?... Yes I realize that is also not your problem but… Ugh thank you for your help!"

"Luke what's wrong?" Lorelai inquired, hugging him from behind.

"What? Oh it's nothing, Tom just screwed up my order he gave me brats instead of hot dogs, that's all" Luke replied.

"Are you sure, because if you have a problem then you know you can always talk to me" Lorelai prodded.

"No everything's great… Rory's home, Rome is at daycare and behaving himself I'm sure… plus neither of them does drugs or hangs out with people named after mythical creatures, so all is well" Luke faltered.

"Ya I agree it's great that they don't do… any of that. So how about a cup of coffee?" Lorelai pleaded.

"No I am not letting you have a cup of coffee!" Luke yelled.

"Well that's too bad because I already had one!" Lorelai beamed.

"Just one?" Luke inquired, suspiciously.

"I guess you should probably add three more to that grand total," Lorelai added. "Plus Sookie begged me to try a new creation of hers, coffee cake with blackberries and pecans, so I'm not sure if that counts."

"It does… So I've gotta go made a phone call, why don't you go sit and order lunch, I'll be out in a minute" Luke prodded.


End file.
